


Return of the Dream Warrior

by justinsbuzz



Series: Celestial Connverse-gence arc [7]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Back to School, Crack and Angst, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 20:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20180062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justinsbuzz/pseuds/justinsbuzz
Summary: It's back to School for Connie, but it wont be the conventional kind of school most people aren't use to. At the same time, Steven is still trying to get through the nightmares, but has found an unexpected ally.





	Return of the Dream Warrior

**Author's Note:**

> Things are starting to come together. personally, i'm not feeling too worn down, but i feel like things are picking up speed. I just hope i can keep it up before September 2nd.

Return of the Dream Warrior: 

He had returned to the inky black area again.

“Oh. Great. We’re going this again?!” Steven yelled throughout the dark space he had found himself dreaming in again. He knew what was coming next. He just wishes it would have been on a different night. “OK. Let’s just get this croak dream over with. I’m going to have to wake up early so that I could drop Connie off at her first day back to school, and she’s gonna need the emotional support, so let’s just get this over with already!”

Nothing happened. Normally, White Diamond would appear to grab Steven, in which he would act like he’s struggling while White Diamond would go on her usual monologue about how she’ll get her Pink Diamond back. This was different. The area above and beneath him looked like liquid ink, sloshing back and forth. The area around him, on the other hand, did not exist. Croak dreams were one thing, but this was unnerving for Steven.

“Um. Hello? ‘Pink Diamond’ right here! You going to come out, White? Is this you just building up the intensity and fear or something?” Steven called out to the inky blackness. White Diamonds chilling, condescending voice could not be heard. The only thing that was happening was the eerie feeling that he was constantly being watched.

“Yeah. She ain’t coming.” A familiar voice came from behind Steven. He was unable to turn around, since he was completely weightless and therefore, unable to properly turn. But the voice began to come from something moving around him. “She may be all powerful, but even she has something to be afraid of.”

To Steven’s curiosity, and mild surprise, Obsidian moved around Steven, hovering a foot away from his face, and upside down.

“Ah. Obsidian.” Steven said flatly. “Not going to lie, this is different. Not by much, but it is different.”

“Considering that I’m not going to do any harm to you, It sure as snot better be different.” Obsidian said before pausing to talk to herself. “Wait. ‘Snot’? that doesn’t make any sense. It almost sounds like I’m saying it’s not different. Gah! Can I start over?”

“Nope” Steven said, with a slight smirk on his face.

“well, considering the fact that time is neither linear nor helix shaped, it doesn’t really matter if I do start over or not. Because here, I both did AND didn’t.” Obsidian said, pointing to her left. “See for yourself.”

Steven looked over to see that the once infinite horizon of nothingness, had given way to a barn door that slid open to reveal Steven and Obsidian. An infinite amount of Steven and Obsidian, looking in one direction away from him. Infinite room after infinite room of Stevens and Obsidian looking into another door. In a state of confusion, he turned to the other side to see absolutely nothing where there should have been an open barn door.

“Wha…what is this?” Steven asked, sounding as confused as the Steven sounded from the room to the left of him. “What is this, Obsidian?”

Obsidian only shrugged and started to orbit around Steven, casually blowing on a kazoo that blew bright pink bubbles.

“I guess, in a nut shell, it’s a dream. Seriously, Steven, keep up with your surroundings.” Obsidian said, shaking her head. “but in a more definitive sense, It’s both your dream, and the dream of an infinite number of other Stevens who took different paths in different ways. Oh, and also a few trillion Nora’s, Judy’s, Connor’s. There were a lot of things you could have ended up being.”

“But…are they part of a dream, or…what’s going on?” Steven asked, his head beginning to ache, and his chest beginning to feel pressured by an unseen force.

“Hrmm.” Obsidian mumbled to herself while pulling out a cookie cat shaped pocket watch. “Well, I’d love to let the proverbial Schrodinger’s lion out of the box, but your alarm clock is about ready to go off. For the 3rd time actually. You’ve gotten pretty good at hitting the snooze button while you sleep.”

“Wait! 3rd time?!” Steven asked anxiously, finding it hard to breathe.

“Yup. But don’t worry, we’ll be doing this again soon enough. For now though, try not to push Connie off.” Obsidian said, now blowing bubbles shaped like Connie’s head. “So, yeah. Ring! Ring!”

Steven’s eyes flew open as he swung upright on the bed. Feeling something falling off of him and onto the ground, he looked down on the floor to see Connie rubbing her head, while Amethyst was on the ground nearby, laughing loudly with a cellphone in her hand. Steven looked at Amethyst and Connie with suspicion.

“Guys?” Steven asked, rubbing his sore chest. “What…what happened.”

“Steven!” Connie said, trying to get up to her feet, only to have Steven lend her a hand. “We’re nearly late. We only have 10 minutes before school starts. We don’t have much time!”

Connie, still holding Steven s hand, rushed out of his room with Amethyst in tow. Steven was barely awake, and struggling to keep up with Connie, as they bolted down the stairs and out the front door. Strangely, Lion was there, and ready to go. Usually, Lion was off somewhere else in the mornings, but that was during the summer. On some days, Steven wonders if Lion is much more intelligent than Steven gives him credit for. Hopping on, Steven realized that he was still in his P.J.s and barefoot, when Lion began to sprint towards the ocean.

“Bye, you guys! See you soon!” Amethyst yelled out at them.

“OK, Lion. Get us to school please!” Connie said, sounding unusually excited. “Might want to hold on tight, Steven! This might get a little crazy!”

Steven, who was sitting behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist. Normally, he would just sit a few inches away from her, but Lion was running at a higher speed. It was bad enough that Steven never got the chance to fully wake up, but was now in somewhat of an uncomfortable position. And in a flash of light, they soared through the sub-dimensional field, and out the other side, back to Steven’s house. Steven was confused, now more than ever.

“Lion. Seriously. We’re running late.” Steven said wearily, still latched on to Connie. He smelled strawberries. “I’ll get you 2 large steaks just to get us there as fast as possible. Please”

Lion chuffed, and barreled back out into the ocean. Once again, they went through the sub dimensional space, and back to exactly where they were.

“Lion…” Steven spoke sounding annoyed. “This…really isn’t a game.”

“You’re right. Its not.” Connie spoke, turning around with a large smile on her face. “SURPRISE! We’re here!”

Steven looked around, trying to get his bearings. He heard the ocean. He saw his house. He heard the ocean, and smelled the sea-breeze. This was not a dream. This was confusing. As his mind pondered the idea of space and time, his body gave in, and fell off the side of Lion, landing on a small patch of grass. Connie leaped off lion, as the two of them turned and looked down at Steven. Connie showing more concern for Steven than Lion, who only sniffed and licked Stevens face. This woke him up, but not by much.

“Steven?” Connie asked, kneeling down right next to him. “Are you ok?”

“Connie. I know that during the summer, people would loose nearly a 3rd of the things they learned from the previous year.” Steven mumbled, wiping away the slobber left by lion, who walked away to chase after a butterfly. “But this is absurd. That is not the high school. This is my house. My. House.”

Connie acted as though she was thinking hard about what Steven was talking about.

“Well, yes. This IS your house, or using a better word, home.” Connie said, staring out at the ocean. “Yet, we asked lion to take me to school. Hmm. Asked to go to school, and ended up at home. School. Home. Home…. school?”

Connie looked down at Steven with a slight smile on her face, offering an outstretched hand. Steven grabbed hold of her hand, but as he was just about to help himself up, Connie yanked him up and onto his feet. Steven was amazed as to how strong Connie had gotten.

“Wow, strong arm.” Steven said, sounding impressed. Connie wrapped her arms around Steven’s neck and gave him a hug.

“I dunno what you did, but they said yes!” Connie exclaimed into Steven’s ear, causing him to become more awake. She continued to speak excitedly and without stopping to catch her breath. “My mom talked it over with Pearl and your dad and they came to an agreement, and she’ll be my teacher and sword instructor, and your dad will be my music teacher, and Bismuth will be teaching shop, and jasper will be my, wait, scratch that US. They will be teaching us! And…and…you don’t look so hot.”

Connie stared at Steven, noticing that he looked more tired than usual.

“Steven? Are you ok, Biscuit?” Connie asked, sounding worried.

“Um. Yeah. Rough night. Couldn’t sleep.” Steven said, trying his best, and somewhat failing, to sound like he was ok. “It’s ok.”

“Steven.” Connie said, still looking concerned as she let go of him. “It…was her, wasn’t it? Her?”

“Well…yes and no. Don’t worry about it.” Steven said, mustering a smile to reassure her. It did not. As he tried to find a proper distraction, one presented itself in the form of three beings standing a few dozen feet from them. Amethyst was taking pictures at the two of them, while Blue and Yellow Diamond looked on. Yellow Diamond looked proud, while Blue was trying her best to not cry. She has been getting better at it.

“Oh my stars.” Blue said, holding back tears of joy. “I thought I could be strong. Our little Pi- I mean Steven’s first day of this thing called ‘Schoooool’. That’s how it’s pronounced, right?”

“That sounds correct.” Yellow said, wrapping an arm around her. “And you’re doing a great job. The only one’s crying are the Amethyst and myself. I’m proud of you. Both you and Steven.”

Amethyst, only seeming slightly annoyed at the fact that the tears are blocking her view.

“Can you maybe get a grip, Big Blue?” Amethyst said, wiping away her tears. “And don’t think I’m crying because of this. I’m just taking pictures of you two goofballs. Kind of a before and after picture of Pearl schooling your brains off.”

Steven grew slightly amused, while Connie could do nothing more but roll her dark hazel eyes.

“Guys.” Connie groaned while talking up the steps. “This isn’t a huge deal.”

“Yeah, Pearl’s been teaching me since I was a toddler. Nothing’s going to be different.” Steven said, following Connie up the stairs to his house. “If anything, we’re just going to goof off like usual. Go on a few Gem related missions. Casually read books. Just like how things use to be.”

“Yeah. Sure it will.” Spoke a familiar voice. One Steven heard moments before. “Ring! Ring! Steven. Don’t wanna be a tardy toad.”

Obsidian was balancing on the porch light like a bird. Steven’s once amused demeanor had faded. He didn’t really need to see her. He was processing too much to try to unpack everything that had happened, he didn’t need to go through that as well.

Steven walked through the door, and instinctively walked towards the couch. Instead, he tripped over a stack of old books that were on the ground. For the second time today, he was on the ground again. Getting up, he observed his surrounding to see rows of chalkboard, stacks of old looking books, and even larger stacks of common items one would find inside of a school. Of the rows of chalkboards, Pearl, wearing a light blue robe, a mortarboard hat, and a somewhat regal look on her face. he had only reformed a week ago, dressed in a small jacket with large shoulder pads reminiscent to Dr Maheswaran’s jacket, tight blue pants, and a blue shirt with a yellow star on it.

“Ah. Fashionably late, I see.” Pearl said, placing the piece of talk down on the tray. “Excusable…for now. Please try not to be late again.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Connie said, walking over to the couch and pulling out a binder filled with paper, empty folders, and a small pen carrier. Steven, on the other hand, was still perplexed at everything that has happened. It would have been nice to have been given notice about his literal first day of school. He was no living the nightmare he had seen in T.V. tropes of going to school in their pajamas, and not having any school supplies. To Steven, he felt he might as well be naked.

“Um…Pearl?” Steven asked, but before he could go any further, he was cut off.

“Professor Pearl.” Pearl apparently corrected Steven.

“Um. Right. Professor Pearl.” Steven said, “What…when were you going to tell me about, well, all of this?”

“Oh. Well…” Pearl said, pondering Steven’s question. “This is technically Connie’s first class. I’m going to try to bring her up to speed with you, and then we could all move forward.”

“But, I mean, Connie is one of the smartest people I know. Why would she need to be brought up to speed?” Steven asked, feeling like she had indirectly just insulted Connie. “If anything, I probably need to be brought up to her level.”

“What is E=MC2?” Pearl asked out of nowhere.

“Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, and why do I know that exactly?” Steven answered, but not sure how he knew that off the top of his head.

“But in what year was that theory to be proven as fact?” Pearl asked, in lightning succession. 

“The hypothesis had been brought to light by Phineas Earl in 1901, but was later corroborated 100 years later after a group of European scientists, led by a physicist names Percival E. Arles,” Steven said in a semi trance state, only to be shaken out of it by hearing himself speak. “And…what are these words pouring out of my mouth?”

“Third stanza of Rosetta Forester’s famous poem ‘The path unpaved’?” Pearl asked, while writing the date on the chalkboard with elegantly sweeping lines.

“’And both that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back’. WHAT IS GOING ON?!” Steven exclaimed, looking panicked. “Connie, I think I’m not who I think I am!”

Connie could only look at Steven with a new appreciation for his intelligence, as well as slight annoyance as to how long he’s been keeping this a secret for so long. Pearl looked at Steven, who was nearly having a breakdown, and decided to intervene and to put his mind at ease.

“It’s ok, Steven.” Pearl calmly said. “I’ve been teaching you these things for a while now. Just mostly to subliminal suggestion in the form of video games and certain songs I would sing to myself.”

Steven was clearly not having a great morning.

“so…. you…brainwashed and ended up pouring a ton of knowledge inside my head for most of my life?” Steven said flatly.

“Well, no. I just made learning so fun and easy that you didn’t even notice. I mean, I know Stevonnie drove your dad’s car. How do think they knew how to drive?” Pearl asked. “And not a lot of kids your age knows how to play instruments as well as you. Plus, you were reading books well above your age level, as well as your logic and reasoning skills are surprisingly more advanced, yet practical than almost 90% of kids your age.”

Both Steven and Connie looked dumbfounded and shocked at pearl, who was surprised that they never knew that. Then again, there wasn’t too many people that Steven could be compared to exactly. There really wasn’t a whole lot of kids or teens in Beach City. Steven was special, but the scope of that was never really widened until now.

“I…I’m going to go get dressed.” Steven said flatly, but with some sense of frustration. “I’ll be right back.”

As he was getting ready, his frustration with pearl grew slightly.

“Pearl. Just doing that to me. Subliminal…just…Gah!” Steven said, trying to keep his voice down despite his annoyance. “Is there no one I can tru-“

Steven froze as a sudden realization kicked in.

"…Phineas Earl? Percival E. Arls? P…earl?” Steven muttered to himself, piecing things together. “Oh, don’t tell me that Rosetta Forester was really Ro- of course it is! And that poem was probably about her leaving Homeworld behind as well. Do I know anything genuine, or was everything I know just funneled into my brain as I slept?”

Steven opened a few drawers to scrounge up writing utensils as well as a small notebook which only the first couple of pages were his and Connie’s names written together repeatedly, in different fashions. If he had known this was going to happen, he would have gotten better prepared. For now, Steven could only make due with what he has. At the same time, though, he also wondered if his dad knew any of this. When it came to instruments and music, he remembered learning it all from his dad. Every chord, finger placement, tune, notes, all of it. But why couldn’t he remember how pearl taught him anything. This was all for the pile of questions that he knows pearl will never answer. To Steven, she was still a glass full of secrets he will never drink.

‘Time to go back down’ he told himself. Strangely enough, he has butterflies swarming around in his stomach, and was tired to boot. ‘This was just homeschooling, why am I nervous all of the sudden?’

At this point, it didn’t matter. He was going to walk out the door and going to go join Connie and Pearl in this new endeavor, and as long as he had Connie, and the fact that he does want to generally learn things the old fashion way, he knows he’ll be alright. And for the most part, he was.

Pearl started off with the basics of mathematics, just to get a range as to how far along they were. This hit a bit of a snag when Steven got lost on geometry, whereas Connie’s brain nearly fizzled out. This pretty much pegged them at being somewhere in between 10th and 11th grade respectively. Afterwards, Jasper put them through the ringer by making them run around the entirety of Beach City, but was stopped after half a lap when Jasper was informed that doing that would be considered cruel and unusual. P.E. ended up getting folded in with sword practice. But to make sure she didn’t feel left out, Jasper ended up being a T.A. and sparring partner.

By lunch, it was home ec, which was hard to tell because it was just making lunch for school credit. For the rest of the day, it was spent with literature studies and art class. Steven was in awe with Connies art. She had come a long way from practicing drawing anime characters. She worked with vibrant colors in expressionistic form. Vidalia, who was more than glad to take on some new students, was amazed at what she saw in Connie’s work about the topic of sword fighting. At the same time, Steven was somewhat self-conscious about his work. Doing his best to not compare his work with Connie’s, He didn’t want to give up on it, but the sense of a shrinking self esteem began to grow. Vidalia and connie reassured him that he’ll find his form as long as he never gives up on it, because they wouldn’t give up on him.

That afternoon, classes had technically ended. The coffee table was strewn with books and paper. There wasn’t much in the way of homework, but they still stuck around to read up on books for a writing assignment. Pearl was lenient when it came to homework, seeing as though it wasn’t going to be beneficial to them. Connie sat on the floor, her back to the couch, while Steven was laying down on it. Both of them reading quietly. As focused as he tried to be with the book he’s reading, questions stirred in his mind. Not just questions for pearl, but also a few for Connie.

“Connie?” Steven asked, hoping that he wouldn’t be bothering her.

“What’s up?” Connie said, turning her head slightly. “Oh, wait, one moment.”

Connie's eyed darted from one line to another before placing a bookmark on the page she just finished reading. Closing the book, she gently placed it on the table, and turned to face Steven.

“Sorry. Just needed to take care of that page.” She said, looking at the book Steven was reading as well. both being the same books, she was curious as to how far along Steven was, but more curious as to what was on Steven’s mind. “OK. go.”

Steven was stuck in the spotlight. Just right when he knew what he was going to say, his mind went blank. But suddenly, he remembers a large white hand. Floating in a dark place where both the ceiling and floor looking like oceans of ink. But then there was the homeschooling situation. He wasn’t sure what to go with, but he let his heart do the talking.

“The reason…why I’ve been tired.” Steven said, closing his eyes as though he was trying to imagine that he was talking to himself. It felt like it was the only way to go. “It…it is because of White Diamond.”

Connie froze for a moment, but then reached over to hold Steven’s hand. This gave him the courage to let it all out.

“She’s been terrorizing me. She’s been doing that nearly all summer.” Steven said, eyes still closed. “I don’t know what to do, Connie. I tried to ask pearl for help, but she just poofed the moment I told her about this. Garnet is off doing her own thing. And I can’t talk to the Diamonds about it, because they might run away again. I…I can’t handle it.”

A single tear slid out of his closed eyes, and down the side of his face. he felt Connie wiped it away. Steven still held her hand tight.

“The only ones who could had seen White Diamond either run, or de-materialize in fear. But the only ones who haven’t, or were from earth, are sticking with me.” Steven continued, trying to sound ok. “but I’m still left with the nightmares. But…I don’t even think they’re nightmares anymore Connie. I think she really IS getting into my head. I don’t know what to do Connie. I just…”

Steven broke down. Over a month of nightmares, lack of sleep, and stress had piled up so high, that the shift of daily life had caused it all to crumble down. Connie was worried, and yet, felling very guilty. All she could do is hold Stevens hand, wipe away some of his tears, and pressed her forehead against his. 

“It’s ok, Steven. I’m right here.” Connie whispered to him. “I’m right here.”

Dusk fell slightly faster than it did a month ago. The air was cooler, and the gentle ocean breeze swept around Steven and Connie, as he walked her home. They held hands, but had remained quiet. Almost in a trancelike state, they let the sloshing waves do the talking for the both of them. But at some point, nearly a block away from her house, Steven spoke.

“I’m sorry, Connie.” Steven said, looking down at his feet. “I didn’t mean to unload like that. I know you don’t like me to talk about it. I just-”

“It’s ok, Steven.” Connie cut him off. Steven didn’t need to explain, nor apologize, for his breakdown. “I’m sorry that I had been keeping my distance. Watching you die like that, and White telling me that the earth is living on borrowed time, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it because I’m weak. It was a hard blow. But…I shouldn’t have stayed away. I shouldn’t have left you to deal with it yourself.”

“I don’t want you to through that, though.” Steven said, holding Connie’s hand slightly tighter. They were a few more houses away. “I don’t want you to get hurt by all of this. I feel like I should have to do this on my own.”

“But you shouldn’t have to!” Connie said, sounding frustrated. “Steven. I swore to be by your side no matter what. And even though it shocked me, I…I’m going to come back someday. In your dreams. And we’ll find a way to take on White Diamond. And we will win, because that’s what we do.”

Walking up the stone pathway to the front door, this was where the conversation had to end. There were no cars in the driveway, or parked out front, so her parents were probably not home yet.

“I’m going to fight by your side again, Steven.” Connie said, turning to face Steven. “I’ll need to muster up all the courage I have, and we’re going to defeat her, and let her know that the Earth is off limits. Honestly, I never thought I would ever get to say that.”

The look of confidence in Connie’s bright eyes gave Steven hope.

“I honestly never thought I would hear anyone say that as awesome as you did.” Steven said grinning. “But-”

“No ‘buts’, Steven.” Connie said sternly. “Even if it means we’re going to have to form into Stevonnie and tie down The Diamonds so that we could get the answers we need to keep White Diamond out of our heads, then we’re going to need a ton of rope, Have Amethyst drink a gallon of milk, and a karaoke machine filled with the worst songs we could find.”

“What?!” Steven said, snorting a little. “Why would we need Amethyst to drink a gallon of milk?”

“It’ll make her sound like a frog, I guess?” Connie said, shrugging. “No matter what, Steven. we’re going to get through it together.”

“Yeah. Together.” Steven said, showing a soft smile. “Maybe tonight?”

“Eh, I dunno. Usually, after the first day back to school, half of my dreams are about me not studying for a test, coming to school with no clothes, and my teeth shooting out of my mouth like fireworks.” Connie said, looking embarrassed.

“We could use your teeth to fight her.” Steven said, pointing out a way to fight White Diamond. Connie could only look at him with confusion.

“Uh…yeah…no.” Connie said shaking her head. “I’m not going to fight White Diamond in the nude. I have lines and codes of fighting, and fighting in the buff is a strong #3 on the list of things I won’t do in a fight.”

Steven, who was shocked that he over looked that once crucial detail, became curious about the list Connie just mentioned.

“Then what’s 1 and 2?” Steven asked.

“Sacrificing you, and texting.” Connie said without missing a beat. “But since you and Amethyst are the only people I text, that kind of makes that rule irrelevant.”

“True. But you and Amethyst text each other?” Steven asked.

“Well…yeah.” Connie answered. “Most of the time, I can talk to you about anything. Some of the time, when it comes to gem things, Amethyst helps me out to understand some things Pearl can’t quite explain. Plus, sometimes she needs a human to talk to as well. She was concerned about losing…actually, never mind.”

Steven wanted to press her for more information, but he knew when to leave some things alone.

“Well, at least you two are getting along.” Steven said, sounding slightly bummed out. “Right?”

“Yeah, we do. Which is kind of a good thing since Amethyst could be my sister in law in the distant future.” Connie said jokingly.

“Um…yeah…” Steven said, blushing profusely. Connie took notice and gave Steven a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks for walking me home, Steven.” Connie said, looking deep into Steven’s eyes.

“Thank you for being there with me.” Steven said, looking down to see that he and Connie were still holding hands. A part of him doesn’t want to let go. But he knows he needs to, for practical reasons. But before he does, he raises her hand and kisses it.

“I would never wash my hand ever again, except for the fact that it would be highly unhygienic.” Connie said, looking at her hand.

“Well, there’s more where that came from.” Steven said without noticing. An awkward silence had surrounded them. Even the sound of the ocean seems mute with shock of what Steven said that out loud. After a few moments, the tension collapsed, causing both of them to burst out in laughter. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I…. I know…. still funny though.” Connie said, trying to catch her breath.

“Well. Goodnight Connie. Love you.” Steven said walking back to the sidewalk.

“Love you too, Steven. Goodnight.” Connie said, regaining composure. “Oh! Do you need to borrow any notes?”

“Oh, no, I’m good. I live with the teacher.” Steven said, smiling back. “See you tomorrow!”

“See ya!” Connie yelled back to Steven.

As Steven turned around, Priyanka’s car had pulled into the driveway. Steven looked over and waved, and she did the same.

The walk home was silent. He could still feel the warmth in his hand where he held Connie’s hand on the way home. He knew she wasn’t around, yet he could still smell a faint scent of strawberries. But the closer he got home, the more those senses, the warmth, then smell, the more those things began to slowly fade. The sun was setting over the hillsides, covered in trees on the outskirts of town. A part of him knew that he wasn’t going to get a good night sleep. But he had hope that maybe, just maybe, both White Diamond, and Obsidian would give him a break. Just one night of dreams about playing chess with Dog-Copter, or maybe flying solo over a moonlit ocean of cheese and tomato sauce. Or just, maybe, dreaming about Connie and Amethyst hanging out. Or even, not dreaming of anything at all. 

From all of his studies about dream interpretation and the real world, if a person had an uneventful day, they would have uneventful dreams. Dreams are a way for the mind to fully process and analyze the things that they either went through that day, or the thoughts about the future. A way to tap into the subconscious mind. But if that were the case, then that would mean that White Diamond wasn’t just a figment of his imagination.

‘No!’ he thought to himself. ‘I can’t be thinking about stuff like that right now. I need to focus on something positive. Something funny, or absurd. Maybe think about Amethyst telling Connie embarrassing stories from my childhood.’

Steven slowly walked up the stairs and into the front door of his house. But out of nowhere, balloons were falling from the ceiling, with a banner unfurling, which says ‘Happy first day of school!’. Much of the banner was crossed out, showing that it was originally supposed to say ‘Happy Birthday’. Steven rolled with it. He ate some pizza, talked about his day, sidetracked things relating to White Diamond, while grilling Pearl on how much influence she had over the scientific world. After all the pizza was eaten, the dishes were cleaned and put up, and after brushing his teeth, Steven curled up in his bed, softly touching the hand that held Connie’s. Slowly, as he faded into sleep, he thought about Connie, and how lucky he was to be with someone like her, to have a best friend like her. To be loved by her.

\----------------

Morning had come quietly. The alarm clock wasn’t going to ring for another hour, but the moment Steven opened his eyes, he was refreshed. More than he had ever been.

“Whoa.” Steven told himself. “That…was…awesome! No weird dreams. No nightmares. No White Diamond. And…are my sinuses cleared out? Who cares, I feel great!”

Steven proceeded to get dressed for the day. The house was quiet at this hour of the morning. Usually, the TV would be on, or his dad would have made coffee. Save for the ocean waves outside, and the early light of the sunrise peering through his window, everything seemed calm and quiet.

Steven paused for a few seconds before slipping his sandals, something felt off. But any feeling of uneasiness was unusually dashed away. Things felt like the ocean. Ultimately, he attributed this to the fact that he hasn’t gotten a decent night sleep in over a month, and he felt as though he could go for some waffles. Maybe figure out how to make waffles with strawberries on the inside. To Steven, as he reached for the doorknob, strawberry filled buttermilk waffles would sound like a dream come….

The door swung outwards, the wrong direction for a door to open. Catching Steven off guard, all he saw was a dark abyss. He went through the door, not as though he was falling through the door and into the abyss, but as though the room itself was swept from underneath Stevens feet, and had blown off behind him to go to who knows where. Steven’s brain had gone numb. As he turned around, he saw a box with a door on it being blown away like an old plastic bag. He couldn’t stop spinning, nor could he govern how fast, or in what direction he was spinning. The faster he spun, the lower his shouts sounded. And the slower he spun, the more his yelling sounded like something going through his dad’s auto tuner. The only point in reference as to what is where is that to one side of him, as well as the opposite side, looked to be as though they were oceans of ink. This was Obsidian’s realm.

As soon as it dawned on him, he no longer yelled. Instead, he waited for the spinning to stop so he could attempt to figure out why he’s here again. He only continued to do so for a few more moments before seeming to come to a stop. Everything sounded like the sloshing of water inside of a large jug.

“OK, Obsidian. What’s going on?!” Steven called out into the inky black void. At first he heard nothing, but ultimately, he heard panicked breathing, and a voice.

“No, Professor Pearl! I swore I wore my cape on the duck this morning, but no one told me the pancake test was written in Neo-classical Aramaic!” The panicked voice could be heard in the distance. “Please don’t shift the flapjack stack! I’ll get you your ducks!”

Steven wiggled left to right, in hopes that some shifting of mass could cause his body to turn in such a weightless environment. It was as though he was in space. Soon, he was able to succeed in turning to see Connie in a bathrobe, trying to swim in the darkness of this realm.

“Connie!” Steven called out to her. “Connie, you’re dreaming!”

Connie’s head jerked around to figure out where the voice was coming from, inevitably turning slightly to see Steven.

“Wha- WHAT?! Steven?! What’s going on here?!” Connie said, looking outraged. “I thought we were going to wait before joining up in the dreamscape?”

“Connie! Listen to me!” Steven yelled. “This isn’t me. This is-”

At that moment, a loud bell was struck. The chime rang over Steven’s voice. Once it subsided, he attempted to say that this was not his dream, but Obsidian’s, only to be interrupted again. Connie read his lips clearly enough to understand this, in which her face went from outrage to mild annoyance. As soon as the bell stopped ringing, from relatively beneath them, a black 6-sided black gem shard rose from the dark ocean. Steven and Connie drifted closer together, and closer to the mirrored gem. At first, from a distance, it would be completely invisible. But now that they’re closer, the surface of the shard is completely flat, pristine, and without any flaws. All Steven and Connie could do was stair at their reflections. For a brief moment, Connie looked over at Steven, who was completely dressed.

“You…um…slept in your clothes?” Connie asked casually.

“Um, actually, I got dressed.” Steven said awkwardly. “In my dreams.”

“Huh. So, you just kind of woke up, in your dreams, got dressed, and left your room?” Connie asked.

“Yeah…. it’s weird.” Steven said, looking at Connie’s reflection briefly and then looking away.

“Yeah. definitely weird.” Connie said, trying not to look at either the mirror or the reflection. “Kind of wish I got THAT treatment.”

“I wish you did too.” Steven said, trying not to let the awkward silence get the best of them. “what was all of that about ducks? I- if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well, I woke up in your Livingroom, face down on the coffee table, and wearing nothing but my underwear.” Connie spoke curtly, while trying not to let the silence affect them, but now regretting talking about her dream up to this point. There was no going back, so she might as well ride the nightmare for what it was. “You saw me and shrunk down into a duck wearing a detective hat. Pearl grew 50 feet tall, and demanded that I talk about the history in pancakes, but in Aramaic. But she was also sounding like she was speaking in Tamil, I think. I dunno. All I know was that I was being swallowed up by Pearl, fell into a deep and dark chasm. Next thing I know, I’m wearing a bathrobe and talking to you.”

“Ah…okay then.” Steven said, trying to unpack everything Connie said. “I guess Obsidian gave you the bathrobe then.”

“I…I guess so”. Connie said, feeling awkward. “So…where is she?”

At that moment, the gem shard opened up, with a plume of mist, and Obsidian hovered majestically out of it.

“Ah. Good morning class!” Obsidian said, with a broad smile on her face.

“Class?!” Steven and Connie asked in unison.

“Yes, class. Welcome to dream combat one dash one billion!” Obsidian cheered, her hands in the air.

“Dream Combat one dash what now?” Steven asked.

“Dream Combat.” Obsidian said, slowly feeling deflated. “you know. fighting in your dreams. Against an impossible foe? You need the practice?”

Steven and Connie looked clueless for a moment.

“Oh boy.” Obsidian, said, massaging her temple and shutting her eyes tight. “OK. Yeah. I know the problem. You’re growing up. Both of you.”

“Well…yeah.” Connie said. “People do that.”

“GAH!” Obsidian roared. “Not like that. It…it’s just…OK, bear with me.”

Obsidian stretched out her hand, and almost telepathically, a black globular orb began to rise up to them, stopping at eye level of everyone. Obsidian hovered her hand over it, slowly molding the blob like clay, but without actually touching it. Within a few seconds, it formed into the shape of a human brain.

“OK. So. This is your brains a few years ago, when you were kids. Preteens at most.” Obsidian spoke, pointing directly at the blob. “See how that even though it’s a brain, it’s still all wobbly, and flexible, and physically pragmatic. Still growing, but already got a lot of room to play around in with imagination?”

Steven and Connie looked at each other with mild hesitation and nodded. Obsidian could see the hesitation clearly.

“OK. It’s not the actual representation, but a metaphor. Being all wiggly and junk.” Obsidian said, now waving her hands all around the blob, causing the brain shaped object to go from looking like liquid, but now concrete. “But now, in your heads, THIS is what we’re dealing with. A stagnant and inactive brain.”

“It’s looks more like a normal brain.” Connie said. This caused Obsidian to nearly loose her train of thought.

“10 points from team Connverse!” Obsidian roared. “We raise our hand in class when we have something we want to say.”

Silently, Steven rose his hand, catching Obsidian’s attention.

“Ah, yes. Master Steven. Do you have something to add?” Obsidian said with a smile on her face.

“Um. Yeah. that looks like a normal brain.” Steven said, also pointing at the brain. Obsidian’s face went completely neutral, while rolling her eye at the two of them.

“Alright. Actually, you made my point for me.” Obsidian said, sounding more annoyed.

“That it looks like a normal brain?” Steven and Connie said in unison.

“That you two couldn’t tell the difference between this.” Obsidian spoke, reverting the solid dark blob back to a semi-liquid form, and back to the solid form. “And this. To put it as bluntly as Lapis would; you two are boring!”

Steven and Connie looked shocked for a few moments, looked at each other, and burst into laughter. Obsidian was neither amuse or surprised.

“We’re definitely not boring!” Steven said while laughing.

“We’re the least boring people anyone could meet.” Connie said, wiping away a tear. “At least we’re more interesting than Peridot and Lapis.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, but lets never, EVER, discuss that. Ever!” Obsidian growled. “But if you two are soooooooooo original, then you would have no trouble dealing with her then, wouldn’t you?” 

Before anyone could say anything else, a large white hand emerged from the inky black ocean below them. Slowly, an even larger object rose from the ethereal ocean. Something tall, spiky, and very insane. White Diamond.

“Why hello there Pink!” White Diamond spoke cheerfully, her eyes focused like daggers at Steven’s gem. “Oh, I think it’s time for you to come out and play!”

Connie, nearly froze in fear, began to violently thrash and paddle her way towards Steven. 

“GAH! NO!” Connie roared. “DON’T YOU DARE YOU MONSTER!”

But as White Diamonds fingers nearly inched their way to Steven’s gem, a loud and echoing snap could be heard from behind them. At that moment, White Diamond had froze.

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Original?” Obsidian spoke from behind Steven and Connie. “How ya gonna get out of this rotten little pickle you’re in now?”

“YOU LET HIM GO THIS INSTANT, OR I SWEAR I’LL TAKE A 30 GRIT SANDPAPER TO YOUR DAMN GEM, OBSIDIAN!” Connie bellowed, tears streaking down her face.

Obsidian lifted a single eyebrow and spoke.

“Nope.” Obsidian said flatly. “I ain’t catching you no fish, you goofs. But instead, since I’m nice, I’m going to show you how to cast an infinitely wide net.”

Obsidian hovered over to Connie, in which she spun her around effortlessly, and pointed her face at White Diamond’s.

“Right-o! lesson number funky-lookin-i-but-not-really: use your weakness as strength.” Obsidian spoke confidently. “Now, Connie. I want you to look directly at that…thing, open your mouth wide and think about fear of change.”

Connie looked stunned.

“But, wha-” Connie began to speak before Obsidian snapped her fingers again, causing Connie to not move her mouth in mid-sentence.

“I was hoping you would have opened your mouth in a different way, but it’s not like you’re going to feel pain.” Obsidian spoke, orbiting around Connie before stopping at her side. “Now, and I’m really sorry for this, think about the worse parts of the future. Think about having to move FAR away from Beach City. Going to college in another state, the long distant strain on your relationship. A bunch of strangers you don’t really know. Creeps all over the place. The feeling you’ll be alone once again. Forever. And again, really, REALLY sorry.”

Steven struggled against White Diamond’s grip more fiercely than before. He couldn’t see it, but Connie’s eyes began to well up with tears. Her heart raced for a moment before her teeth shot out of her face like missiles. Before they hit anything, Obsidian snapped her fingers, causing White Diamond to move again. Slowly, her fingers inched closer to Steven’s gem before stopping after getting hit with a small missile that exploded in confetti. Connie’s eyes widened. Realization struck the both of them harder than the small missile hit White Diamond. Suddenly, more small missiles flew out of her mouth, hitting White Diamond in the eye, causing them to explode, not with confetti, but in rainbow colored explosions. White Diamond let go of Steven after a couple more blasts to the face.

“OK, now, Steven-” Obsidian attempted to speak before being cut off.

“I smell what you’re stepping in, Obsidian!” Steven yelled. “I don’t like how you stepped in it, but I still smell it! And speaking of smell!”

Steven stared intensely at White Diamond’s hand, and as though he was mentally controlling it, forced one of her long-nailed fingers right up her nose, and causing it to wriggle her head around like a fishhook.

“Wooooo! Alright, Steven! way to bring the embarrassing pain!” Obsidian cheered, turning her Lisa-outfit into a cheerleader one. “Go Connverse! They’re our couple! Now burst White Diamonds Bubble!”

Instinctively, as though they thought the same thing, White Diamond inflated like a parade day balloon, and exploded with a high-pitched ‘yeet’. Hundreds of thousands of pink bubbles burst out of her, and floated away into the dark sky. 

“Wow, guys! Way to be literal!” Obsidian said, instantly changing back to her old form. Noticing the fury in their eyes as they turned to look at her, Obsidian knew she had to deescalate the situation as much as possible. “Now before someone turns me into a mutated balloon animal, I’m going to throw out a ton of spoiler alerts and say that you two graduated from a 4 years community college with liberal arts degrees. Afterwards, when your parents are pleased that you did that much, you take the leg ship to travel the universe like a middle-aged couple driving around in an ugly RV that wears heels!”

The realization had kicked in, but only before they turned Obsidian's hands into waffles, that she was trying to help them. Although it was with unconventional means, it did yield a valuable lesson in the fact that even though White Diamond was attacking them, she was attacking them in a place that the impossible is practical. Steven and Connie looked at each other and attempted to give the other one a hug if it were not for the fact that they were in a state of weightlessness. Seeing the struggle, she telepathically moved them closer to each other by pressing her waffle shaped hands together.

“But now you know how things roll in the dreamscape…again. Let that be a lesson in pragmatism as well as never loosing your ability to imagine the multitude of infinite possibilities.” Obsidian spoke, looking at her hands and shaking them in hopes they would go back to normal no little avail. “In other words: don’t forget your imagination, and that stagnancy either kills things, or turns into jell-o. And the last thing you want is for your brain to turn into a mediocre treat your mom brings home weekly from when she worked at the hospital, Connie.”

Steven and Connie heard most of what she was saying, but were still hugging it out. Obsidian took notice and cleared her throat, causing them to back away.

“OK, So. Now that lesson one has been touched upon, it’s time for lesson two. Also, you’re going to want to get better outfits.” Obsidian said, staring at her hand and contemplating what it would taste like. “Cause you’re going to need to be in something more daring, and bathrobes don’t scream fierceness, Connie. It screams either ‘I got out of the bath’, or ‘I’ve given up on life, might as well go to the Big Donut and buy out their bear-claws. Lookin’ at you Steven!”

Steven’s very brief flashback to over a year ago when he and Connie had the fight was cut short by him concentrating on what fierce means. Apparently to him, Archimicarus fit the subconscious bill. As for Connie, she went to her go-to ultra-Lisa outfit with her sword she got for her birthday. They were both amazed at each other’s choice in outfits, but only briefly.

“OK, love duds, Lesson 1.02! Take care of that!” Obsidian commanded, waving one waffle hand beyond them, while chewing on a piece of the other hand. What laid out before them was a flock of Aquamarines cackling madly, while having Navy rubies riding on their backs. Steven and Connie looked at each other with fierce determination as they flew towards the armada of Aquamarines, swords and shields drawn.

“Oh, and guys! The waffles are a little dry!” Obsidian called out to them, still chewing on what would be considered as her thumb. “Nice touch with the strawberry filling! I'm digging it! I'm really digging it!”

**Author's Note:**

> Steven and Connie are now taking on night classes, apparently, but something lurks on the horizon. a dark secret will be found out. a secret that had laid dormant for thousands of years, and could ultimately dictate the fate of the earth as we know it. pack your bags, we're going to Anchorage.


End file.
